Mass Effect
by Eddiholic501
Summary: Novelization of Mass Effect


MASS EFFECT

Prologue

Alliance Personnel Database:

Password: ********

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Accessing Profile….

Identity: Shepard, John Alan

Rank: Lieutenant Commander

Age: 29

Class: Soldier

Notes: N7 Graduate/Led the defense of Elysisum/Led the assault on Torfan.

Currently being transferred to the SSV Normandy at the request of Captain David Anderson.

_Journal Entry:_

_Date: February 21, 2183_

_I never intended to join the Alliance. A lot of colonists and spacers did during the Blitz, but I had seen enough killing. When the batarians hit the colonies, the Alliance couldn't hold it together against them. Soldiers got slaughtered by the truckload, and it was pretty clear that the Alliance had to use a more forceful approach. But it only got worse, batarians started funding mercs to help out with the attacks and Alliance resources were started to get thin. Eventually, I gave in to the call and signed up. One of my early postings was on Elysium, and of course it was one of the colonies to get hit. Most of the soldiers defending the colony were killed or scattered by the surprise attack, so of course I had to be the one to step up. I rallied whatever soldiers and colonists I could and held the line against the invasion. Under my leadership, we held them off long enough for the Alliance to swoop in and save our asses. Luckily, the colony was still in one piece. I was awarded the Star of Terra for my actions, and promoted too. I made my mark in history, whatever that's worth. Since then, the Alliance pushed the batarians back to the outer colonies, which led up to the battle of all battles on the colony, Torfan. I had to lead a twenty-man squad on a suicide run to rescue the colonists and eliminate the slavers. The mission was a complete disaster and I ended up losing 14 of my men in the process. But the slavers were dead and the colonists were rescued, the mission was finished. The blitz was over, and I was actually getting ready to resign from my post. But something had stopped me. About a year after the Blitz a small team was investigating a distress beacon on the colony of Akuze. When they touched down, all hell broke loose when the squad was attacked by a whole pack of Thresher Maws. The squad leader called for aid, and by the time the Alliance got there, the leader was the only survivor, but she was badly injured. The medics did what they could, but she eventually succumbed to her injuries and died. But this was not just any squad leader. This was my sister, Lieutenant Jane Shepard. The whole thing was ruled an unfortunate accident. But I didn't buy it. Jane was one of the top ranking soldiers in the Alliance, she had acquired a lot of her own merits and became the youngest soldier in history to acquire the rank of Lieutenant at her age. So there was no way in hell she was stupid enough to walk blindly into a pack of Thresher Maws. Which meant that someone set her up and murdered her. There was little evidence backing up my theory, but one day I will find out the truth. I owe her that much, after the hell we went through together on Mindior. I stayed in the Alliance for this one reason alone, everything else I accomplished since then didn't mean shit to me._

_I recently graduated from N7 and already I'm being transferred aboard a ship. The SSV Normandy. A prototype frigate funded by the Citadel Council and built by humans 'and' turian engineers to symbolize how far both races had come since the First Contact War. The whole 'unity' act. But everyone with half a brain would know that's a load of crap. I'm being positioned as the ship's XO. Apparently, the ship's captain personally requested this himself. What captain had that kind of pull with the brass, I don't know. Hopefully I'll know more when I get there. I ship out in the morning._

_Journal Entry_

_Date: February 23, 2183_

_I met some of the crew already, they seemed pleasant enough, but Captain Anderson was a different story. He seemed tough and acted tougher. The man looked like he had seen everything there was to see in the galaxy. He had seen my record, including my stint back on Torfan. He also knew that I pulled out from resigning at the last second. When he asked why, I told him it was personal, but I had a feeling that he knew the reason anyway. While he showed me around the ship and introduced me to the key members of the crew, the name Anderson kept ringing in my head and then it hit me. This was 'the' Anderson, one of the last veteran captains that fought in the First Contact War. Also the man who led the campaign against the batarians during the Skyllian Blitz. A legend in the Alliance. Why the hell is he here in charge when the Normandy's only supposed to go through a shakedown run? A question I'm probably not going to get answered very soon._

_The biggest surprise, however, came in the form of a Council Spectre. And a turian at that. Nihlus Kryick. From what I knew about the spectres, the Council used them in situations which couldn't be handled politically. They send the Spectres in to clean up the mess, by any means necessary. The crew doesn't seem too happy to have him aboard. I can't say that I blame them. Spectres had been known to be loose cannons on occasion. I spoke to Nihlus, briefly, mostly about my career achievements. He seemed pretty civil, rather pleasant actually. You'd think a guy with state-of-the-art hardware and weapons would be a bit more annoyed, but he was rather casual. He told me he was here to oversee the Normandy's performance for the Council. I'm not buying it. Something else is going on, I don't know what. But hopefully this shakedown run will provide me with more answers. Cause I got too many damn questions, and it makes me uneasy…._


End file.
